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The Simpsons Review: Breaking Baddies at the Methtaurant

This week's "The Food Wife" stuck to the classic Simpsons storybook architecture, as a series of seemingly random events Marge, Lisa and Bart to start a food blog, "The Three Mouthkateers."

Unlike last week's random pair of unrelated stories, this stuck to one strong storyline and kept the craziness to the jumps in the single plot line.

Although the episode was loaded with guest stars, most of their appearances were underwhelming. The only two remotely memorable appearances belonged to Anthony Bourdain's bouncy ball adventure and Gordon Ramsay's dream swap.

The real strength simply relied on the show's core family, which is rare for The Simpsons. The only true supporting characters were Flanders and the Reverend at The X Cross Games, along with Comic Book Guy fittingly tagging along with the foodies.

Sure, Marge's jealous over Homer being the fun parent is a re-hashed family problem from seasons past. But at least this round things got a lot more entertaining when Homer stumbled upon the Methtaurant. And we haven't seen a Marge that badass since she donned a uniform in season six.

Also worth noting - since I've been spoiled by South Park's ridiculously short production cycle - I thought this episode was still pretty topical for The Simpsons. Food blogs are still trendy and most the video game references, including Angry Bird and the new Nintendo system, remain timely enough.

Overall, it was nice to watch an entertaining episode of The Simpsons after two back-to-back lackluster installments.

Be sure and catch up on all our delicious Simpsons quotes from the episode. Reading them on TV Fanatic is far safer than a trip to Little Ethiopia.